Sunday, November 8, 1998

I had been looking forward to the 1000 mile cruise from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales immensely. It was not difficult to wake up this morning, pack, and head to the airport for my flight from Santiago to Puerto Montt. Thinking ahead, I requested and received a window seat on the left side of the plane -- excellent for viewing the Andes range on the 1:30 minute flight.

Upon arriving in Puerto Montt, I checked into a check hotel and then headed out for a journey of the 100,000 person port city. It's a nice enough place, a small town feel, but large enough to have a shopping mall, a very busy Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a municipal museum whose primary attraction is the robe worn by Pope John Paul II when he visited about 6 years ago.

I happened to run across some guys playing basketball in the park. I just wandered over, watched a little while, and then was invited to play. Of course! I scored just about every other point for the next hour and a half (I was at least six inches taller than everyone else). The guys were really friendly and the game was very competitive, though we really didn't keep accurate score. The Chileans, however, don't quite seem to grasp the concept of defense... The highlight of the game was an incredible alley-oop dunk I made purely by accident (I was going for the tip in, and just happened to find myself high enough for a dunk instead...) The crowd went wild -- my presence had attracted about 20 girls in the nearby stands.

I left the guys and went to the movies -- a black and white flick, Dead Man, was playing. It wasn't very good, however, and wasn't worth the two hours... Then, back to the hotel where I read for most the remainder of the evening.

Monday, November 9, 1998

The Navimag office, about four kilometers from my hotel, was easily reached by bus in the morning. I checked my backpack and then really had nothing to do but hang out in the city for the next 6 hours until departure. I went shopping for some food and drinks, went to the park and read for a few hours, and then went back to the terminal a little early.

Slowly but surely, the other passengers filed into the departure lounge. It seemed like there were quite a few nationalities represented. I've gotten quite good at differentiating nationalities just by looks, clothing, temperament, and gestures... I reckoned we had quite a large contingent of Germans, a few Aussies, and quite a few Brits. There were some cute girls in the lounge as well, but all seemed to have guys attached.

Around 6:30, we boarded the boat. It's a 150 ft. cargo ship that really carries more passengers than cargo. My room, a 4 person bunk-style accommodation, was shared with an Italian couple and an older French man. None of them spoke much English, which was just fine with me. I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the room and attached bathroom and indeed the rest of the ship as well.

A few minutes past eight, with a tremendous blow of the ship's horn, we set out for 1000 miles through the fjords to Puerto Natales. Shortly thereafter, I got the first taste of the somewhat palatable ship's dining room -- dinner was served. Not knowing a soul on the boat, I just took a seat. A very pleasant young African guy, quite stylishly dressed, sat next to me. Within minutes, we were chatting away like old friends. Steven is Ugandan and is working his way around the world as a SCUBA instructor. By a strange coincidence, we knew about 10 people in common from Zanzibar, Tanzania where he worked... I still can't believe it. Anyway, he gave me the update on my old friends and the progress of the dive shop. I was happy to find out that the hard work I did on the shop's web page has been put to good use... Check out www.diveafrica.com!

The stars that night were absolutely incredible. I gave a brief thought of sleeping on deck, but it was quite chilly and I did the reasonable thing and retired at around midnight. The smooth rolling motion of the boat quickly soothed me into a deep and satisfying sleep..

Tuesday, November 10, 1998

I awoke quite early and headed out on deck. It was a beautiful day and I took the opportunity to relax a little under the sun. Shirt off, beach towel down, sweatshirt for a pillow, walkman on. I had the primo spot on the deck, I must say, and I wasn't about to give it up. A few of the passengers bundled up in sweaters, jeans, and jackets thought I was a little crazy, but the secret no one knew is that the deck of the ship is made of metal -- an excellent conductor of heat -- and was quite warm. I didn't really think there was much threat for a sunburn, but I forgot that the ozone layer is considerably depleted at this latitude... Stupid.

In the afternoon, I met Rob and Mike from California. Another coincidence... Rob works for Montgomery Securities and happened to work on the initial public offering evaluation for my old company. Rob found it no surprise that I was retired and living it up. I somehow convinced Mike and a couple from Denmark, Michael and Sophie, to play some cards. I didn't win, let's leave it at that.

Dinner came soon enough and then a pleasant trip to the bridge. The captain, foregoing all maritime protocol, believes in a completely open bridge. I wandered in and out throughout the entire trip to check our progress, look at the radar, and watch the "action" of which there was very little. Around 10:30, when it finally got dark, I went inside and caught Pretty Woman on video before bed.

(If you're yawning right now because this is so boring, think about how I felt -- you can read this little essay in about 10 minutes, I was on the damned boat for 3.5 days!)

Wednesday, November 11, 1998

After missing breakfast, it was just more of the same today -- some reading, some writing, talking, and watching beautiful scenery float by at 10 knots. Some really nice Australians, a brother sister combo of Rebecca and James, provided excellent conversation.

We played a little game of hearts sometime in the afternoon -- I won! I won! I won! I could cite the exact scores for everyone, but that would be rubbing it in, right Rob, Mike, Michael? I wouldn't want to do that...

After dinner, finally we had an opportunity for action. Three days of being penned up in the boat were about to released on the disco dance floor. OK, it's not really a dance floor. It's just the dining room with the tables removed, a 1970's style large silver geodesic disco ball, and a bank of four lights flipping on and off to the beat of the seriously bad music. Everyone sat around and tapped their toes to the beat and read their Lonely Planet guidebooks in preparation for our port tomorrow. How exciting.

Rebecca, the aforementioned Australian, was up for dancing. But, I was not nearly ready to be the first on the floor. We both decided to take it upon ourselves to incite the crowd. I recruited 10, she recruited 10, and then we all hit the floor at the same time. Within 5 minutes, nearly every person on the boat was grooving. Success! But, the music wasn't nearly good enough to keep the crowd interested. To borrow a Club Med expression, we needed "props". Rebecca and I started a limbo line which proved to be extremely successful. Next, a beer drinking contest -- Europe vs. the rest of the world. I anchored the "world" team and cranked home a win. Someone got a decent tape from their room and that was all that was necessary to keep the disco going until around 2:30. Rebecca was quite an excellent dancer and despite the confined quarters and low ceiling, I managed a few twirls and spins myself.

Thursday, November 12, 1998

Last day on the boat! The most spectacular scenery as well -- the captain wandered up close to several seaside glaciers. After a brief visit to the engine room and a very exciting trip through the Kirke Pass, a VERY tight channel only 10m clearance on each side of the boat, and then the glorious sight of Puerto Natales, some 1000 miles from Puerto Montt.

We all departed the ship and headed out for a hostel. Somehow, I found myself with Steven, James, Rebecca, Michael, Sophie and an older English self-described "gentleman" named John. The hostel we chose had enough beds and we all checked in. I fell asleep almost immediately.

Fortunately, I awoke in time to plan the a trip to Torres del Paine, the most famous National Park in South America.